6 Tips for Better Time Management

Jackie Zou

Things can get kind of crazy this time of year, and sometimes it can definitely feel like there literally aren’t enough hours in a day to get what you want/need/desperately need to get done. But fear not! We’re here with some tips on how you can make the most out of the time you have.

Break down your task into almost stupidly manageable tasks

Success begets success! You’re going to be more motivated to keep working if you you’re rewarding yourself mentally for accomplishing the small things. Not to mention that planning out your schedule and strategy for doing a project is a form of what I call “productive procrastination.” If you can, also consider generous time allotments for each task! You’ll feel good crossing things off your list, and you’ll feel even better if you can cross them off ahead of your schedule you created.

Embrace the concept of non-zero progress

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever recieved to deal with the urge to procrastinate was the concept of aiming for “non-zero progress;” sometimes it can be daunting to start a doing an essay or assignment because you feel like you’re going to have to do it then and there, but that’s dumb, dummy. Sometimes it’s helpful to think in terms of “any sentence I write RIGHT NOW is a sentence I won’t have to write later.” If you only get that one tiny thing done, that’s fine! But oftentimes an added benefit is that the act of doing that small thing sparks a productive firestorm that burns down the entire town of…the assignment? I didn’t really think that metaphor through when I started it but you get the idea.

Work in the in-between!

Sometimes minutes are precious! Taking advantage of those weird 10 minute or 5 minute windows in between classes or meetings can really add up! Substitute a couple of those “I’m going to re-scroll through my entire Instagram feed for the 3rd time today” times with “I’m going to write just like 3 sentences of this paper” and you’re going to find that you’re making much faster progress than you thought possible.

Don’t bring your phone charger!

This is a brutal one but really, really effective. On days where I’m particularly busy, I make a point not to bring a method for me to juice my phone because it makes me wary of spending 80% of my battery during the day watching my own dang snap story over and over again. Self-sabotage is real folks! But sometimes you’ve gotta be tough on yourself to love yourself.

Go out of your comfort zone!

Y’all ever only notice how gross you are when you’re in public for a long time and realize that it’s weird for you to sit at your desk when you’re supposed to be working and just pick at your fingernails for 20 minutes? Sometimes it’s better for you to be in the presence of judgmental eyes when you’re trying to get work done! It might seem counterintuitive, but make yourself a little uncomfortable! You’ll be much less likely to lose focus doing gross little private things while you’re supposed to be working if that boy who ordered the iced tea has been watching you pick at your chapped lips for the past hour.

Turn everything off, boo.

I know you know this already, but social media is a black hole, and so is that whole thing where you tell yourself “I can work with Netflix on in the background, I’m strong.” Honey baby I’m sure you’re strong, but you’re not that strong! Study after study has shown that there is no such thing as multi-tasking, so if you really want to get that paper done, you’re gonna have to shut it all down. There will be time to treat yourself later! There are plenty of free plug-ins / apps that will restrict your internet access if you don’t trust yourself to do it on your own, but learning self-control and focus is something that’s going to be super valuable to you later one anyway :^).

Learn to say no, sweetie.

Hey boo! You need to take care of yourself too. You’re strong and you’re capable but guess what? You’re also a human being who needs rest and time for yourself. Evaluate whether you can realistically handle everything that you’ve taken on, because it’s always better to put your all in doing a few things well than doing many in a way that’s scattered and unfocused. Don’t self-sabotage boo! Get your sleep, get your me time, and get yours.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Jackie Zou

Jackie is a student at the University of California Berkeley who doesn't know anything about anything, except that we should all probably drink more water. She would like to thank Jonas Salk for the polio vaccine, that was very nice of him.